It’s where you can tour a chocolate factory, play classic arcade games, park your bike outside a bicycle-themed brewery, indulge in a plate of whole-hog, pit-cooked barbecue, pick up a pair of locally hand-crafted denim jeans and visit a contemporary art museum—all within in a 100-step radius.

Spice driven seasonal cuisine with a focus on Indian and Asian flavors and the evolution of those culinary traditions. Quality... View More

Downtown Raleigh has seen a surge of growth in recent years thanks to a slew of artists, entrepreneurs, creative class innovators, restaurateurs, business leaders and other passionate minds that had a vision for downtown that would make it a special place to visit—a place where people from all walks of life, backgrounds and futures would come together to share enriching experiences. That’s why you’ll find murals on the sides of buildings and posters at business entrances that read, “Are All Welcome Raleigh, N.C.” and “Welcome to Raleigh, Y’all.”

It’s all easily accessible, too—downtown streets are easy to navigate by walking, cycling (a bikeshare program is headed to Raleigh in early 2018), catching a short taxi ride, using the free R-LINE circulator bus or even hopping on the back of a pedal-powered rickshaw.

Cheetie Kumar

Garland, KINGS and Neptunes Parlour

For Garland restaurant owner Cheetie Kumar, music, food and creating a good time go hand in hand. The rocker-turned-restaurateur has her hands full as head chef at Garland while still taking center stage as guitarist in her band, Birds of Avalon.

“You can hang out in Raleigh and walk around and hit a bunch of different spots that are very well-thought-out and beautifully executed.”